HM 47 — STUDY TEACHER WORKLOADS

HOUSEA MEMORIAL 47REQUESTING 57THE THLEGISLATIVE LEGISLATURE-EDUCATION STATESTUDY COMMITTEE TO CONDUCT A STUDY EXAMINING REQUIREMENTS AND PRACTICES RELATED TO TEACHER WORKLOADS AND THE STRUCTURE OF NEWINSTRUCTIONAL MEXICODAYS -AND SECONDTO SESSION,DEVELOP 2026RECOMMENDATIONS INTRODUCEDTO BYSUPPORT G.HIGH-QUALITY INSTRUCTION AND TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS THAT INCLUSIVELY BENEFIT ALL NEW MEXICO STUDENTS.

Andrés9 RomeroWHEREAS, andresearch Josephconsistently L.identifies quality teachers as the single most important in-school factor to positively influence student achievement and outcomes;

Sanchezand WHEREAS, New Mexico teachers are responsible for providing tailored instruction to students with varied cultural, linguistic, developmental and E.socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as a wide range of individual learning needs across the state's urban, rural, frontier and tribal communities;

Dianeand Torres-VelásquezWHEREAS, 7to 9support Astudent MEMORIALlearning, REQUESTINGachievement THEof LEGISLATIVEinstructional EDUCATIONgoals STUDYand COMMITTEElocal TOcommunity CONDUCTneeds Aand STUDYpriorities, EXAMININGNew REQUIREMENTSMexico ANDteachers PRACTICESare RELATEDresponsible TOfor TEACHERcore WORKLOADSinstructional ANDduties THEand STRUCTUREprofessional OFresponsibilities INSTRUCTIONALrequirements DAYSat ANDboth TOstate DEVELOPand RECOMMENDATIONSlocal TOlevels; SUPPORT HIGH-QUALITY INSTRUCTION AND TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS THAT INCLUSIVELY BENEFIT ALL NEW MEXICO STUDENTS.

eand tWHEREAS, 17research windicates lthat nteachers din 18New WHEREAS,Mexico researchand consistentlyacross identifiesthe qualitynation teachersspend = = 19 a lsubstantial asand theincreasing singleportion mostof importanttheir in-schoolworking factortime toon positivelynon-instructional iduties, aHM e47 rPage 201 influenceincluding studentlesson achievementpreparation; and outcomes;

and a t m m 21 WHEREAS, New Mexico teachers are responsible for providing d r e 22 tailored instruction to students with varied cultural, c e s k 23 linguistic, developmental and socioeconomic backgrounds, as e a n b 24 u [ well as a wide range of individual learning needs across the state's urban, rural, frontier and tribal communities;

and .233535.2 WHEREAS, to support student learning, achievement of instructional goals and local community needs and priorities, New Mexico teachers are responsible for core instructional duties and professional responsibilities requirements at both state and local levels;

and WHEREAS, research indicates that teachers in New Mexico and across the nation spend a substantial and increasing portion of their working time on non-instructional duties, including lesson preparation;

and WHEREAS, teachers are increasingly responsible for administering multiple summative, formative and interim assessments and specialized assessments across instructional areas, as well as ensuring students' well-being by e t 17 understanding and addressing students' needs for both current w l n d 18 and long-term academic success;

and = = 19 a l WHEREAS, fragmented and disconnected education data i a e r 20 systems, including school accountability and student assessment a t m m 21 data, require teachers to devote substantial efforts to non-non-instructional d r e 22 instructional tasks, such as data analysis and reporting, to c e s k 23 inform responsive student interventions and differentiation, e a n b 24 reducing teachers' available time for instruction, u [ collaboration and professional learning;

and .233535.2 - 2 - WHEREAS, proposals that could further increase teacher workload, such as literacy and mathematics screening, family and parent notification and development of individualized student plans, continue to be considered by the legislature;

and WHEREAS, the 2023 legislative education study committee report "Leveraging Learning Time in New Mexico" noted that improving and protecting educators' professional work time is HM 47 Page 2 directly connected to the necessary conditions in school environments for improved student outcomes;

and WHEREAS, according to the publication "No Time to Lose" by a study group of the national conference of state legislatures, international research on high-performing education systems, including those in Finland, Singapore and Japan, indicates that balanced teaching loads and high-quality teacher development, such as collaboration, mentorship and effective professional e t 17 development and embedding professional work into the school w l n d 18 day, support both teacher growth and student learning;

and = = 19 a l WHEREAS, research indicates that teacher workload and job i a e r 20 demands are associated with elevated levels of stress and a t m m 21 burnout, which can affect student learning, teacher retention d r e 22 and instructional continuity;

and c e s k 23 WHEREAS, New Mexico continues to experience high vacancy e a n b 24 rates for teachers and other educational positions, with New u [ Mexico state university's southwest outreach academic research .233535.2 - 3 - evaluation and policy center reporting in its 2025 "New Mexico Educator Vacancy Report" a staggering one thousand one hundred eleven vacancies across the state, including six hundred four teacher and two hundred eighty-nineeighty- nine educational or instructional assistant vacancies, and New Mexico's school leaders continue to communicate the growing challenge statewide of recruiting and retaining HM 47 Page 3 qualified teachers, especially in rural communities and among teachers with specialized training in serving students with disabilities;

and WHEREAS, a legislatively authorized study could evaluate e t 17 how time is allocated to teachers during the school day, w l n d 18 including instructional and professional work and how state and = = 19 a l local requirements, professional learning requirements and i a e r 20 available resources impact teacher schedules and instructional a t m m 21 time, and the study could provide analysis and recommendations d r e 22 on structuring teacher time to balance workload and support c e s k 23 teacher effectiveness, thereby improving student achievement e a n b 24 and outcomes;

u [ NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF .233535.2 - 4 - REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the legislative education study committee be requested to conduct a study examining the statutory requirements and current practices related to teacher workload and the structure of the instructional day and to develop recommendations to support high-quality instruction and teacher effectiveness to HM 47 Page 4 benefit and serve New Mexico's student population, including students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students, English learners and Native American students who are named in the Martinez/Yazzie consolidated lawsuit;

and the e t 17 public education department;

and w l n d 18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislative education = = 19 a l study committee be requested to publish a report of the study, i a e r 20 including its research and recommendations, by December 31, a t m m 21 2026;

and d r e 22 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be c e s k 23 transmitted to the director of the legislative education study e a n b 24 committee, the director of the legislative finance committee u [ and the secretary of public education.

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